The Legend of Silverpelt
by City Lights and Lady Wit
Summary: ... I will tell you of the moon and the stars, the life at the end of day, the dark beauty of mystery itself. I will tell you of the Queen of the Night, who leads the dark dance of the starlight against the velvety black backdrop of the sky..."
1. Prologue

This is my first story that I'll be publishing here on fanfic, so I hope you guys'll enjoy. Please R&R! I've been thinking about this story for a while now, and 'm hoping it'll come out well. It sounded so good in my head. Mehe. I don't own warriors, the Erin Hunters do!

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… "Hush, Darkkit. Wait for Snowkit, Leafkit and Olivekit to get here."

A grumble. "They always take so long."

A smile. "You are too impatient. When you get older, you'll learn to wait."

"Deepstream always tells me that. Mother says I'll learn in time."

"And that you will. You're just like your older siblings were."

The small, black kitten straightened up. She was lying in the curve of an elderly queen's body with her napping sister, a tiny, light brown tabby she-cat named Firkit. Two other older cats were lying a little distance away from them in the spacious den, sleeping, their bodies curled up beside each other.

"I never met them, you know. Bluecloud and Honeyfoot, I mean. But mother thinks about them all the time." She meowed, breathless, her eyes sparkling. "They died in the greencough epidemic many seasons ago, right? Could you tell me about them? Mother never does, but I know she misses them. Oh, please, Icefur."

The striped queen fidgeted, uneasy. "Another time, Darkkit. Your mother will be the one to tell you." She said this softly, but firmly, and the young cat knew the matter was closed. When the litter of Deepstream arrived a little while later, accompanied by their mother, who apologized profusely for the delay, Darkkit forgot all about her older siblings who she had never met, and didn't ask Icefur another question about them for the rest of the evening, to the elder's great relief.


	2. Introduction to a Fairytale

First Chapter! I wrote the first four chapters (including the prologue) in one night, but I've decided to space out the times of when I'll post them so that it'll give me time to edit them if I decide to and to see if people will actually read this. So the story begins. Please R&R. Disclaimer, I don't own Warriors.

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"Now, what tale would our fine little kits like to hear?"

They were all gathered around their storyteller for the night, Rippleclaw, the oldest cat in their Clan, huddled close together for warmth, listening to the fury of the storm outside the den, feeling the slight coldness of the snow and wind as it drifted through the thick press of leaves of the low willow tree hanging over the entrance of the den made of branches of bracken. Olivekit, the youngest and smallest in the group, shuddered and pressed closer to her grandfather, the other elder in the den, Gorsepelt.

Leafkit bounced up from where he lay beside his brother Snowkit, eyes shining. He lived for this kind of thing. "I'd like to hear about the story of TigerClan."

"No, tell us about the Great Journey!"

"We've heard that tons of times. What about the story of Firestar, the light of the Clans? Didn't he bring them together during one of the Clans' darkest hours? I've never heard the whole thing!"

"I for one would want to hear about Tigerstar the betrayer."

"What about…"

In the mess of all the kits tussling with each other and shouting what they'd want to hear about—even shy Firkit had gotten up to reel off her favorite tales—nobody noticed Icefur give Darkkit a tense glance, as though afraid she would ask for a story of their topic of conversation earlier. But the black she-kit was busy supporting Snowkit, as the cream white tom had been the one to suggest the tale of Tigerstar, who she was greatly interested in. Icefur turned away and visibly relaxed, as Gorsepelt's voice rose above the others, quieting them all down.

"Maybe," the dark brown tom mewed dryly, "Everyone would like to ask Rippleclaw what HE would like to share." He looked pointedly at the plump elder who lay there with his paws tucked under his chest looking amused, his whiskers twitching.

The kits ducked their heads and muttered quick apologies for their rudeness, lying or sitting back down.

Rippleclaw gave a purr of amusement. "It's quite alright, little ones. I can understand your excitement and restlessness, as it is leaf-bare and you aren't allowed out of the nursery as much as you would've been had it been any other season. But Gorsepelt is right, and," he nodded at his denmate, "There IS something I would like to share with you, something I haven't heard you suggest yet. It's a bit unpopular, but I find it quite special and beautiful, yet sad. A story to be told not just on any night, but on a night of nights. A night such as this."

He looked round the den. All the kits were shivering with anticipation. They knew how good a storyteller Rippleclaw was, and they WERE excited for his tale. It was something in the way he looked at them, and spoke in his hoarse voice, that made the story come alive, made it something magical and unforgettable. When he spoke, his voice dipped and grew and caught and held their attention. They would see the eerie quality of moonlight in his eyes, see his passion for the tale he was speaking of, hear the music of the forest in his deep old voice filled with history. Even the older cats stirred with eagerness. His eyes flashed.

"I will tell you a story of the moon and the stars. A story of the cold dark and the never-ending blackness that is night. A story of the essence that triumphs over light and arises when the sun falls, when the day dies. Is it evil? No. Only a transformation, that fades out soon enough, but not before we know the mystery and secrecy of it, and then it comes again, to fill us with a magic we will never fully understand. It has light, too, though in smaller forms than the sun, but there is a difference: you can FEEL it. Feel it in your fur, feel it whisper through the trees, feel it laugh on the cold night air, feel it in the wind through the leaves, feel it in your heart. Yes, if you empty your mind, you can feel it; the luminescent glow of moonshine, the dance and cold glitter of the starlight, yes, it's all there. The beauty of it all cannot be held in your paws, but can be felt with all your heart and soul if you learn." He looked at his audience with eyes as dark as night itself, the light of the stars seeming to spill into them. "So I will tell you of the Spirit who is, was, we do not know, aware of this all. She knew, knows it all, feels, felt it all, for it IS her. So I will tell you of the moon and the stars, the life at the end of day, the dark beauty of mystery itself. I will tell you of the Queen of the Night, who leads the dark dance of the starlight around the humble moon, against the velvety black backdrop of the sky. I will tell you," He paused, and they all seemed to see a different cat looking back at them. "Of the legend of Silverpelt."

The cats all looked at Rippleclaw in awe. For a moment, it seemed the storm outside had stopped, as though the rage of the howling wind had been silenced and the whole forest was listening to the elder's tale as it began to unfold.

He began, and they were transported.


	3. Dark Dreams

Third chapter's up! Thank you to DejectedDawn, Aerwiya and Oo-Rainpath-oO for the reviews and advice! And to those who added this story to their favorites or story alert lists. The simple support is awesome. :) So, the story REALLY starts in this chapter. Enjoy! Please R&R.

Disclaimer, I don't own Warriors.

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_When Shalepaw woke up—or thought he woke up—he was confused. He was sure he had fallen asleep in the apprentices' den the previous night, and so was completely bewildered as to why he had woken up to find himself at a pool unfamiliar to him, surrounded by a light mist. There was a whispering all around him, a light rush of air, and he saw that the surrounding sand was dappled with the pawsteps of many, many cats. The water was smooth as glass, undisturbed by any wind or breeze, and Shalepaw swore he could see shadows of cats in it, and the whole sky overhead seemed to be held in this small, single pool._

_He looked around, looking for someone to explain this to him, and his gaze settled on a young silver tabby she-cat who sat at the edge of the pool on the other side. Even in his panic—where in StarClan's name WAS he?—he didn't fail to notice that she was beautiful. Her impossibly silver coat had a glowing sheen to it, and every hair tip seemed to glitter with light. She smelled of something beautiful and secretive and free that he could not place…_

_Her most noticeable feature though was her eyes. His breath caught in his throat when he looked into them and found he could not look away._

_They were dark voids filled with stars…_

_He jolted awake._

* * * * *

"_Oh, it's you again."_

_The she-cat didn't say anything, but he swore he could see her whiskers twitch with amusement._

_He bristled in annoyance, but couldn't stop himself thinking, She hasn't changed at all… she's still beautiful. He avoided looking at those breathtaking eyes set in her proud, angular face. He knew that if he looked into them, he would wake up, and who knew how long it would be until the next dream?_

_He'd been having these dreams of the silver tabby she-cat on and off for seasons, ever since his first encounter with her when he'd been two moons into his apprenticeship. Now, he was a young warrior, and he was impatient to find out who this cat was and what her business was with him._

_They were at opposite sides of that pool again, and as always, surrounded by the same mist, and she gazed at him unblinkingly across the calm waters. He dipped his head._

"_You've grown," he remarked, looking down at his unsheathed claws. She always got him tense. But realizing she might not be willing to talk if she saw him showing hostile signs, he calmed himself and they slowly slid back in. Sure enough, she stayed quiet, but then he thought again that that didn't necessarily mean she was reacting to his defensiveness, as she never spoke at all. But then again, he had always been cold to her, and so maybe that was the reason why she'd never talked. She was driving him mad._

"_And your fur's changed color. I only fully realized that now." He stole a quick glance at her, to make sure that he really was seeing her with black fur instead of silver. He was sure it was her and not a different cat. Her pelt had the same glowing sheen, her eyes were still the same star-filled orbs…_

"_Mousebrain!" He snarled, as he suddenly woke up in the Warriors' den. Heads popped up all around him from the mass of furry bodies._

"_What's wrong, Shalefur?" His sister Nightflame asked sleepily from beside him. Specklewing, his best friend, looked at him confusedly from his other side._

_He looked around the den and saw that while some of the other warriors had decided to go back to sleep—he saw that outside that the sun had barely begun to touch the top of the treetops—others were giving him annoyed looks and weren't moving, and he realized they were waiting for his answer. "Err, nothing. I-I had a dream." He forced himself to calm down, but couldn't resist shredding the moss underneath his claws. That would have to do. Grayfeather the deputy snorted. "You've been having many such dreams, Shalefur. You should tire yourself out of them. You're going to the Gathering tomorrow night. Take the moonhigh patrol after that."_

"_Great." Shalefur muttered, sheathing and unsheathing his claws._

_Grayfeather's eyes narrowed. "Come again, warrior?"_

_He looked back at her unflinchingly. The stupid old gray tabby didn't scare him. "Yes, deputy." He said coldly. She nodded at him coolly and lay back down as a few other warriors stood up and left the den to take the dawn patrol. Seeing the sun rise and feeling his tension suddenly disappearing, he bounded out of the den ahead of the patrol, leaving Specklewing and Nightflame to wonder at the sudden change of his stiff mood. _

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_That night, he dreamed of her again._

_This time, she was blindingly, dazzlingly white, with tabby markings of the deepest, darkest jet black, with the sheer silvery mist hanging about her still form._

_Not bothering to hide his annoyance, he leaped to his paws and shouted across the pool, "Who ARE you? And what do you WANT?"_

_He kept his angry eyes on her paws, kneading the ground he was standing on, but his eyes flew up to hers in shock when suddenly, she mewed in amusement, in a low voice rich with the melody of running waters and the deep blackness of the dark and night, "You'll find out soon enough."_

_He was falling._

_And then, quite suddenly, but not unexpectedly, he woke up to the clear golden light of day._


	4. On A Night Like No Other

'kay, decided to upload the next chapter since it's just a REALLY REALLY short one. 'm sorry. The next ones are going to be way longer, I promise. But anyway, enjoy! And please R&R.

Disclaimer, I don't own Warriors.

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"_That stupid, irritating old she-cat! I can't believe I'm related to her."_

_Shalefur padded through the forest, fuming. The bright moonlight slanted through the leaves, dappling his fur like grayish snow, as he passed under trees. The thick clumps of trees and bushes hid the gorge from sight, but he could hear its ever-present grumble and the rush of water as it dashed down the pass and against rocks. He looked up at the full moon and sighed, his fur ruffling in the slight breeze. The stars winked down on the forest, and he felt exhaustion overwhelm him. The earlier Gathering had been stressful and the tension had been high; leaf-bare always set the Clans against each other, as they fought for survival during the cold, ruthless season. And for the past few days, he'd been working nonstop, preparing the Clan for the coming leaf-bare, taking on as many responsibilities as the senior warriors were, and it was no mean feat. Nights were cold, and the prey was getting scarcer. More and more hunting patrols were being sent out, as well as border patrols, and every cat barely had any time to catch his or her own breath, let alone to rest or sleep._

_He sighed again, and looked longingly at the base of a tree, where there was a thick growth of moss. Sometimes he wished he were just an apprentice again. They had it easy, the young members of the Clan._

Grayfeather'll never know, _the black warrior though, flicking the thought of his deputy cousin away, and settling down comfortably, tucking his paws under his chest._

_His eyes closed slowly, and he drifted off…_

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"_I thought you wanted to talk. And here I find you, sleeping the night away."_

_He immediately awoke at the sound of the amused voice, jolting upright, to collide his head with a low branch, shaking off some leaves._

_And there she was, beautiful as ever, sitting in her silver tabby form at the base of a nearby tree. She was seemingly unreal, as her fur still had the same sheer quality, and her eyes were the same, but she looked as though she was vaguely blurred at the edges._

_Shalefur knew he wasn't dreaming when he looked up into her eyes and he didn't wake up. And so he was all the more confused._

_He blurted out the first thing to come into his head. "Who in StarClan's name ARE you?"_

_She tipped her head to the side, gazing at him fearlessly. "A little rude, aren't we?" She purred in amusement as he continued to look at her wonderingly._

_She paused. "I am like you, in a way, but not completely. Because I am NOT."_

_He could understand that. He nodded, and saw she was visibly pleased to see he wasn't that scared of her and could catch on to what she was saying. "So, are you a spirit of some sort?" He sat up and looked deep into her unusual, beautiful eyes. They seemed to be bottomless and empty, except for the stars that were yet weren't there, and he found this strangely sad._

"_You could say that." He wished she would blink; she was starting to make him feel a little nervous. "I am," she paused again. "All around you. For the moment, at least. For when the sun rises, I will die. And when it sets, I will come again."_

_Shalefur shook his head in awe. "So what are you? The essence of night or something? There's such a spirit? I never knew. Are you from StarClan?"_

_She twitched her whiskers in irritation. "You ask a lot of questions. But I will answer them. Settle down." She padded over to him and looked down his muzzle, her breath as cold as ice, smelling of the wind and the sky. "The moon waxes and wanes and sets as the sun does, and I won't be here for long. So listen, for I have many things to tell you."_


	5. The Queen of Night

Longest chapter so far, I think. Whee. I find it a bit rushed, but anyway, I hope you like it. :D Happy New Year, guys.

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_She looked straight at him, the ghost of a smile flickering on her lips. "Hmm, where do I start? Care to help me? What do you want to know?"_

_He sat up and narrowed his eyes. Her disconcerting ones stared at him unblinkingly across the small distance separating them. The dead leaves on the forest floor stirred in the slight breeze that ran through the forest silently, hardly leaving behind any trace of its presence._

_Shalefur cleared his throat. "Well, for starters, who are you? Wait," he cut her off before she could interrupt, seeing her open her mouth in annoyance. She stiffened, but kept quiet, nodding at him to continue. He nodded back. "You already explained, yes, I know, but now I want to know WHO you are, not just what you are."_

_She looked at him haughtily. "I am a cat also, but not in the form of flesh and bones as you are. In a way, to answer your earlier question, I am a spirit. But not of a cat who has gone before. I never died, you see." He looked up at the sound of the odd melancholy in her voice, to see her contemplating the stars. The sight of them shivering in the night sky seemed to give her strength, and she turned back to him, the bitterness in her voice vanishing. "I am Night. I am in everything you see around you when the day is done. The shadow of the trees, the flight of owls, the ultimate blackness in the distance, everything. I care for it all, I watch over it all, for I AM it all. If any of it is damaged in some way, I am hurt. If any of it is abused, I bleed. I am nighttime itself and always have been, and always will be. What I am is who I am. Does that answer your question?"_

_Eyes wide, he nodded. "How long have you been around, I mean, if you've never died? Where did you come from? How did you come to be, precisely? Are you older than the Clans? Than StarClan, even?"  
_

_She glared at him, but he couldn't hold her gaze for long, and dropped his eyes. "Sorry," He muttered sarcastically. "Can't help but feel curious, as you've been stalking me in my dreams for an unbelievably long time."_

_She laughed, and he found the melody of it quite enchanting, strange as it was._

_Her eyes shone with amusement. "Good point. You have a good enough reason to be badgering me, annoying as you are. Well," She paused, and he kept quiet, letting her gather her thoughts._

"_I've 'been around' for quite a while, if you think about it. No, I am not older than the Clans. I was born into RiverClan, as you were." She purred at the shock in his blue eyes. "Yes, surprising, isn't it? Who would expect that I had been born as a normal cat, to live a normal life. Except, I wasn't."_

_He saw her eyes turn hard, and her voice spoke coldly. "The cats who have gone before, whose spirits become stars, needed someone to take care of them. Someone who would make sure they reached StarClan, the life after death. I was born for this. My mother knew I was different from the moment I was born, and my sister as well. The medicine cat knew it. Our father knew it. The whole Clan knew it. It was all hushed up, though. No word of it was breathed to anyone from the other Clans; it had been a leaf-bare like this back then, and our Clan leader, Gorsestar, hadn't wanted any more than our usual problems in the hard season, and kept the secret of the freak kittens within the Clan. Mother was heart broken. She—don't interrupt me!" She suddenly snarled, seeing him open his mouth in bewilderment. "You may ask me questions when I am done."_

_The air around them suddenly became colder, and a mist rose up to cover the stars shining over them. He dropped his head. "I'm sorry. Please continue." He had been about to ask her what had been so wrong about them at birth, but her sudden anger frightened him. He reminded himself to shut up when he needed to. All his questions would be answered soon enough._

_Calming herself down, she echoed his thoughts. "All your questions will be answered in due time. Just—please, listen first." He nodded, and she visibly relaxed. "Where was I? Oh, yes." She studied him for a minute before continuing. "She knew we would never grow up to be normal cats, that we were fated for something else. I always think that she should have thought us special. But, no. She thought herself cursed and us to die soon at the paws of some blessed prophecy that would take us away from her. There was no such prophecy, of course, and we were soon thrown out. You would think the medicine cat would know better, but she-cats were severely looked down on then, and he was an old tom, and scared of change. He was convinced that the Clan would be better off without us, and he made sure everyone else believed him."_

_The harshness in her voice was quite audible; he could hear it vibrating with her hate underneath her smooth words. The strength of her emotions surprised him, but only for a moment. He realized how bitter she must've felt, being thrown out of the only family she would have ever known, young as she had been then._

"_So… what happened to you and your sister? Where did you go?"_

_She looked up at him, and he saw in the depths of her blue-back-purple eyes such sadness that had welled up over the years, that the beautiful she-cat couldn't quite hide._

_She continued, her voice hollow. "We were left in the general area of the Twoleg place you now have beyond your territory. Back then it was just a marsh, uncharted and unsafe. _

"_We didn't manage well. We were only about a moon old when we were abandoned. But we weren't alone for long." Her eyes glittered with some distant memory. "A StarClan cat came for us. Riverstar, the founder of RiverClan and our first leader, came down to me in a dream one night. He told me what I was destined for, what I would become. He took me away, and I never saw my sister again."_

_Shalefur looked at her in shock. "Why? Wasn't she special also? Where did she go?"_

_She smiled bitterly. "We were and are complete polar opposites. She was born for Day. I was born with the stars in my fur. Moonlight danced in my paws and eyes, and that frightened our mother. I was visibly different, with the unnatural glitter of my pelt. She turned to my sister, but when we were a few days old, her ginger pelt started to shine, and when her eyes opened, sunlight poured out of them, to prove to our mother that she was just as different from the others as I was. I never saw her, but whenever the sun starts to rise, I feel her presence, and I know I must leave… Her name is Goldenleaf. No cat knows her by that name, but I think most appreciate her more…"_

_She trailed off, and Shalefur shook his head at her. "Both parts of the day are welcomed equally by the Clans. There's a balance."_

_She smiled wistfully. "You flatter me. But see? All consider night to be part of the DAY. But that is not the point right now… What else do you want to know?"_

_He paused. He realized how hard it must've been for her to recount her past for him, to share with him how she had been misunderstood and rejected and in a way, betrayed. Shalefur realized she might have every reason to feel bitter and regretful about her role, no matter that she was born for it. He would choose his words carefully. _

"_If things could've been different… would you have wanted to live a normal life?"_

_She looked taken aback by his question, but it didn't take long for her to answer._

"_This is my life. I was born for it, and I know no other. I may linger on that thought more often than I should, but I would not wish for anything else. Besides," She startled him with a purr. "If I had lived a normal life, and my sister as well, I would never have met you."_

_Her eyes were laughing, and the black-furred tom felt heat rise up in his pelt, and he licked his chest self-consciously._

_He looked at her again, wanting to ask the question he'd been wanting to put to her for a long time. "Answer me this; why is it that you've been visiting ME, of all cats? I'm no one special. Why not visit our medicine cat, or our Clan leader?"_

_She looked at him appraisingly. "Tell me," She raised her eyes skyward. "When you look up at night, what do you see?"_

_The inky night sky was starting to lighten, but he could still make out the numerous pinpricks of light that spilled out onto its dark canvas, shining down on the forest below._

"_The stars, like everyone else," He murmured. "They're always a breathtaking sight."_

_She purred from his left. "Exactly. When you were born, something in them told me you would be special. Different. That there was something great in store for you."_

_Shalefur turned to her in wonder. "Really? Like what?"_

_The stars in her eyes twinkled. "You'll have to find out for yourself. It was worth meeting you, though,"_

_He shook his head in annoyance. "Okay, okay. Another thing; How can you be here?"_

_She looked down at her body, as if surprised at it. "Oh, you mean like this?" She chuckled. "It's full moon. On nights like this, I can come down to the forest in this semi-physical form. I watch the Gathering sometimes…"_

_His fur ruffled at the thought of some unseen specter watching from the shadows, eyes glinting in the moonlight; dark, powerful, and invincible, just as she was in her own element, night._

"_Last question," He muttered, but she wasn't listening anymore. She had raised her head and was sniffing the air._

"_The night grows old," She hissed. "I can feel her… I have to go."_

"_No, wait!" He blurted out in desperation. "Just one more question."_

_She had turned around to stalk off through the trees, but turned back at his voice._

"_Yes?"_

_He could smell the dawn on the air; he had been out almost all night. She was disappearing, fading, and he let out his question in a rush. 'What's your name?"_

_She seemed to smile, and the gorgeous blue-black of her eyes held his._

"_Silverpelt," She murmured, and slipped away into the shadows._

_Standing there, alone in the pre-dawn, he savored the last traces of her scent, the cold misty tang of starlight, as it evaporated in the morning air, bringing a new day and a new dawn._

"_Silverpelt," he meowed to himself. He was entranced._

_The sun broke over the treetops, and Shalefur shook himself out of his reverie and started to head home, amidst the birdcalls and the waking forest, longing for the night._


End file.
